Takahe on Tiritiri Matangi Island

in Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, N.Z.
1997

These flightless birds are
unique to New Zealand. Thought to be extinct in the 1940s a small colony was discovered in
Fiordland in the South Island. Titiriti Matangi is a predator proof sanctuary for these
ground nesting birds, and they have about 17 breeding birds in about 3 or 4 families. They
have the endearing habit of mutual grooming, and they use their claws to strip the seeds
from the tussock grass on which they feed.